🏰 Europe
Flag of Netherlands
🎨 What the flag means
The Dutch flag has three stripes: red, white and blue. It grew out of the orange, white and blue Prince's Flag of William of Orange from the 1570s, and it is the oldest tricolour flag still in use. There is no official meaning, but people often say red stands for bravery, white for peace and blue for loyalty. On King's Day, an orange pennant is often flown above it.
📊 Quick facts
- 👥 Population
- 17.1 million (2013)
- 🏙️ Capital
- Amsterdam921.5 thousand people (2023)
- 🗣️ Main language
- Dutch
✨ 3 fun facts
- About a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level, and much of it is land won back from the water, called polders.
- Windmills have pumped water out of the Dutch land since the 1200s, helping to drain lakes and make new fields.
- The Netherlands has at least 18 million bicycles, more than one for every person in the country.